On Acting, its Inherent Privileges and Associated Challenges
As an artist and actor, there is indeed nothing more
amazing and magical than seeing stories being brought to life, from script to
screen. Over the multi- lingual (acted in Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Tamil
languages) and multi-platform projects, she has been lucky to see every part of
that process in action wherein she have seen ideas being formed and moments
being captured, innate magic being made in front of the camera and behind it.
The idea of leading multiple lives through different characters/roles is a very
intrinsic motivating factor and proffers enriching life experience(s) in terms
of wisdom, maturity and smartness. One needs to be open for new and novel
experiences and many at times they might be challenging at emotional and
physical levels. Working outside the comfort zones is a prerequisite for all
actors. Acting gigs in ‘Made In Heaven’ and Ghost Stories’ projects in the OTT
sector and ‘Mothoon’ in films category were some of her favourite work
challenges in her body of work so far.
How Reading Habit(s) made her a better Actor?
Hailing from a family of PhD holders, she admits of
being a recluse, completely introverted and spending a geeky/tomboyish
childhood with an inherent bias for reading literature books. This initial
reading habit played a solid foundation in subsequent acting career. As filmmaking is a collaborative art and the
entire process is open to interpretation and inputs, many times, she as an
actress elevated the vision of a director and the initial script/draft of a
writer, by contributing to the script nuances much better. Reading skills honed
her acting abilities. Additionally, dabbling in other related art forms (like
painting, writing and etc) is truly liberating and educative, for true personal
growth is omni-directional and learning/learnability can come from many art
forms.
Film Auditions and Character Building
Auditions are the litmus test and offer learning
opportunities in both success and rejection scenarios. Giving
800 plus auditionsin Mumbaitaught me manythings about human behaviourand
contributed to character building. Auditioning gigs became a way of life and
this specific period taught many finer nuances about expectations, clarity
about vision, inner strength and tested confidence in many rejections. The
beauty of hunger (for success) and ‘never say never attitude’ were ingrained
and the virtues of financial independence, personal discipline, self-honesty
and self-awareness were learnt.
On transitioning from Modelling to Acting
After an eventful stint in modelling, she constantly
felt the gap between real life and the glamorous life of modelling and the
financial instability and unsustainability that comes with singularly pursuing
modelling career in Indian context. After an initial period in the showbiz
arena, she decided to start auditioning for parts in advertisements and began
to learn Hindi as well and got featured in the Kingfisher Calendar for the 2014
edition. Contrary to the popular belief, modelling is not an easy gateway into
Bollywood or other regional film industries as such. There is completely zero
connection amongst beauty pageants, modelling and film industries, as they are
very different and although fall under the broader entertainment business
category.
On planning one’s Career and Focus
In spite of winning beauty pageants she did not go the
usual way of debuting in a ultra-glitzy, commercially viable film and instead
opted to star in the risky psychological thriller, Raman Raghav 2.0. There is a
clear demarcation between being a ‘star’ and being an ‘actor/artist’, for both
are two different paths. Occasionally, there might be projects and
opportunities where one can be a great artist/actor and star at the same time,
but very often, the career paths and preparation is wholly different in this
duality.
Expert Bio: Sobhita Dhulipala is a model and actor who was born in
Tenali and grew up in the quaint coastal town of Visakhapatnam, moving to
Bombay for college during which period she took part in a variety of talent
festivals and a beauty pageant (Femina Miss India 2013, Winner), following that
with a brief but thriving stint as a fashion model before professionally
starting out as an actor.She is a trained classical Dancer in Bharatanatyam,
Kuchipudi and Kathak.She has worked across diverse regional industries – Hindi,
Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam apart from a predominant career boost from the OTT
vertical with acclaimed projects like Made in Heaven (2019), Bard of Blood
(2019), Ghost Stories (2020)She has been nominated at the Cannes film festival
2016 in critics’ choice best supporting performance. Apart from nominations in
film dare, Screen awards for most promising debutante, she has won awards in a
variety of events like Grazia breakthrough performer of the year, GQ awards
emerging star, Lokmat awards rising star, Condé Nast award for excellence in
performing arts and other medals of a similar vein. A self-confessed nerd,
history geek and passionate traveller, she believes that her greatest
inspiration comes from curiosity about life and her appetite for
risk-taking. Her upcoming releases include ‘Major’, ‘Kurup’, ‘Ponniyin
Selvan’, ‘Sitara’, ‘Made in Heaven Season 2’
The author of the blog and Annapurna College of Film and Media makes
it abundantly clear that the knowledge being shared by the expert(s) is for
informational and educational purposes only. The questions are designed for
students to listen to personal experience(s). The blog is written to capture
those experience(s) only.
